Open Video Movement Gains Steam

The crying need for Open Video continues to break out from under the radar, as evidenced by the blue-ribbon sponsors and diverse community of the just-announced inaugural Open Video Conference to be held June 12.

Organizers include Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and partners include the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard — an indication that the need for a comprehensive open, royalty-free video technology solution strategy is not just about the nuisance of proprietary add-ons in the open Web, there is an important societal and policy dimension.

An excerpt from the announcement web site captures the idea:

“YouTube and other online video applications are rightly celebrated for empowering end-users; however, online video lacks some of the essential qualities that make text and images on the web such powerful tools for free speech and technical innovation. Email, blogs, and other staples of the open web rely on ubiquitous and interoperable technologies that have low barriers to entry; they are massively decentralized and resistant to censorship or regulation. Video, meanwhile, relies on centralized distribution and proprietary technologies which can threaten cultural discourse and innovation.”

The dot to connect here is the policy framework that begat “Digital TV as we know it” and the “Internet as we want it” to an actionable direction forward.